Faculty

Ferric C. Fang, MD

Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Microbiology

Adjunct Professor of Medicine

University of Washington

The Fang laboratory studies a broad range of topics in bacterial pathogenesis, with a particular focus on phagocyte-pathogen interactions. Specific projects include the antimicrobial actions of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species in Salmonella enterica and Staphylococcus aureus pathogenesis, iron metabolism in host-pathogen interactions, control of Salmonella virulence gene expression by alternative sigma factors and other transcriptional regulators, and the pathogenesis of human typhoid. Using a genomic approach, the Fang laboratory discovered "xenogeneic silencing," a mechanism by which bacteria recognize and integrate foreign DNA into pre-existing regulatory networks. Professor Fang also oversees the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory of the 413-bed Harborview Medical Center, where he is working on molecular methods for improved diagnosis of bacterial infections.